Cultivator



2' Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. A. WRIGHT.

Cultivator. No, 242,497. Patented June 7,188].

k w I u, vnsns mummy, walmn m n e E. WRIGHT. Cultivator.v No. 242,497. Patented June 7, 1881-.

'Wiiizeswew I In-vezzior N. PETERS, PholB-Lflhognpbv, Washington 5.6-

2 Sheets-Sheep 2 NrrEn STATES EDGAR A. WRIGHT, OF DAVENPORT, IOWA.

CU LTIVATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 242,497, dated June '7, 1881.

Application filed May 23, [879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR A. WRIGHT, of Davenport, in the county of Scott, Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cultivators, of which the followingis aspecification.

This invention relates to that class of machines, generally wheeled, which have vertically-swin gin g beams or drag-bars to carry the shovels or plow-points; and the object of the invention is to render the operations of the machine easier and less laborious to the attendants by applying springs thereto in such manner that they will assist the operator in raising the beams and shovels attached thereto from their operative to their inoperative positions, and this without having the springs exert any objectionable lifting strain upon the beams when the latter are in action.

To this end the invention consists in applying lifting-springs in such manner that they exert upon the beams a maximum power or strain when the latter are above an operative position.

The spring, operating in accordance with my improved plan, may be made and applied in various forms, which will readily suggestthemselves to theskillcd mechanic without departing from the limits of my invention.

My springs may be arranged to sustain the whole or any desired portion of the weight of the beams when the latter are raised, and they maybe arranged to exerta slightliftin g strain when the beams are in action, or, if preferred, arranged to cease their lifting strain entirely at such time.

The essential feature of my invention consists in applying a lifting spring or springs in such manner that they do not increase their lifting strain as the beam is depressed,theconstruction prefcrredbeing such that the springs exert an increased lifting action as the beams rise from an operative to an inoperative posi" tion.

I am aware that springs have been applied in various ways to assist in lifting the beams in this class of machines; but in all cases their arrangement was such that they acted with an increased lifting strain as the beams were lowered, the consequence of which arrangementwas, that the springs exerted their greatest upward strain when the shovels were in the ground, at a time whenit was desirable that the shovels should not be lifted, and on the other hand exerted but little force when the beams were elevated, and when it was required that they should be sustained to relieve the operator. This old action, it will be seen, is the reverse of that which is desired, and the principal object of my invention is to reverse the old mode of action and have the springs act with little or no upward strain when the shovels are in the ground, but with a strong upward pressure when the beams are lifted.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one manner of embodying my invention. The springs represented in thedrawings are adapted to serve the double purpose of holding the beams down, and of lifting them, or assisting to lift them, when they are raised abovean operative position. No claim is made in the present case to this duplex action ot'the springs, nor to the peculiar form orarrangement of the springs, otherwise than as regards the feature of exerting an increasing or a maximum strain on the beams as the latter rise, the peculiar construction of the spring being already covered in a patent hitherto granted to me.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cultivator provided with myimproved spring, the beams being shown in the operative position; Fig. 2, a vertical section through one side of the same, showing one of the beams partly raised and the spring acting to assist in its elevation; Fi 3, a similar section, showing a modified arran gement, the spring being attached to the frame instead of the beam, as in the precedin gfigures, Fig. 4, a vertical section, showing the same construction as Fig. 2, but with the beam raised and sustained by the spring Fig. 5, a view showing the modified arnngement represented in Fig. 3 with the beam elevated and sustained by the sprin The machine may be of any suitable character as regards its general constructiomthat shown in the drawings being the usual and wellknown form of the ordinary double-shovel wheeled cultivator, cons sting, mainly, of an arched axle, K, sustained atits ends bywheels B, and connected, by the couplings g, to the beams of two plows, h, the couplings being of such construction that the beams are free to swing both vertically and laterally.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 4, it will be seen that each beam has secured to its top, at some distance from its couplings 9, one end of a spring, G, the opposite end of which latter bears against the under side of a pulley or roller, (1, attached to the axle directly over the coupling which connects the beams with the latter. This spring is curved, as shown at d in the drawings, and has near one end a bend or angle, (1. When the beams are lowered so that the shovels enter the ground, the outer end, (1 of the spring outside of the bend or angle acts beneath the roller, as shown in Fig. 1, and the springs consequently tend to urge and hold the beams and their shovels down in their operative position; but as the beam rises above an operative position the end of the spring moves forward beneath the roller until the angle d passes the same, whereupon the spring instantly changes its action, and the portion (1 tends to raise the beams, thus enabling the attendant to lift them easily above an operative position with the shovels clear of the ground, as is required in turning the machine or carrying the same to or from the field.

It will be noticed on referring to Figs. 2 and 4 that as the beam is elevated the fixed end of the spring approaches the roller, and consequently as the operative portion of the spring is lessened in length the spring acts with increased force and effect as the beam ascends. Of course the force of the spring is lessened byits loss of tension as it swings upward with the beam but this loss is more than compensated for by the shortening of the active portion of the spring and its increased leverage as the bearin g of the roller approaches its rear or fixed end, and hence it is that the lifting force or effect of the spring increases during the rise of the beam.

The parts should be so proportioned, if it is designed that the spring shall hold the beam down,that the angle d will pass the roller and change the action of the spring at or about the instant that the shovels leave the ground. It is manifest, however, that the shoulder 01 and the portion (1 may be omitted and the spring continued directly outward past the roller, in which case the spring will exert a lifting action upon the beams when the shovels are in the ground; but by properly proportioning the parts the lifting action may be so greatly reduced when the shovels are in the ground that it will not materially aflect their operation, and will not cause them to ride from the ground improperly.

By giving the spring the proper length and strength, and properly arranging the parts in relation to each other, the spring may be caused to act with a greatly-increased efl'ect as the beam is elevated; or it may be caused to act with substantially uniform effect, so as to balance, or substantially balance, the weight of the beam and'shovels, in which case, however, the machine would require greater attention on the part of the operator to prevent the shovels from riding out of the ground.

The spring shown in the drawings is made of spring steel wire, with its lower end coiled and secured to the beam by means of an adjustable clamp, s. The roller is mounted on a journal secured to the axle by means of a vertically-adjustable clamp. By adjusting the clamps which hold the spring and roller, the force with which the spring acts and the variation in its strain may be modified as desired. The location of the roller may be changed; but it is preferred to attach it directly above the coupling, as shown, for the reason that the lateral movement of the beam will then have no effect upon the action of the spring.

In Figs. 3 and 5 the arrangement shown is simply the reverse of that above described, the spring being secured to the axle and the roller attached to the beam. The general form of the spring, with its bend or angle, and its double action upon the beam, are the same as in the ar *angement above described.

It will be noticed, on reference to Figs. 3 and 5, that in the arrangement therein represented, as in the first-described arrangement, the roller or point of bearing approaches the fixed end or fulcrum of the spring as the beam rises, so that the spring acts with increasing power, and also with increasing effect, in elevatin g the beam.

In this second arrangement the bend or shoulder of the spring to hold the beam down may be used or not, as preferred.

WVhile it is believed that the form of spring represented in the drawings is preferable to all others, the invention includes, as before stated, any spring so combined with the beam or its equivalent that a greater or stronger lifting force or effect is exerted upon the beam when the latter is above the operative position than when it is in use; or, in other words, the invention includes any and all beam -lifting springs the effect of which is lessened or avoided when the beam descends to an operative position.

I believe myself to be first to apply a spring in such manner as to secure the above mode of action, and the first to so apply a spring in such manner that as it loses tension it acts with an increasing force or effect to lift the beam, or, in other words, with an effect which is not lessened by the decrease in the tension of the spring within the usual limits of operation.

Among other arrangements which may be substituted for that shown is that of havinga radius bar or link introduced between the spring and beam as a substitute for the curved spring and roller.

\Vhile the invention is designed more particularly for use in connection with wheeled cultivators, it is obvious that it maybe applied to various other machines containing substantially the same requirements.

By arranging the lifting'springs to act with a minimum effect when the beams are down, or to cease their effect at such time, as de- LIO scribed, I am enabled to secure the perfect action of the spring and to avoid the tendency of the shovels to rise from the ground when the machine is in action, at the same time relieving the attendant of the whole, or nearly the whole, labor of lifting the beams out of action. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a cultivator, the combination of a vertically-swinging drag bar or beam and a lifting-spring which acts with increasing force or effect on the beam as the latter rises, and vice versa.

2. In a wheeled cultivator, the combination of a vertically-moving beam and a liftingspring, substantially as described, whereby an increasing upward strain is communicated to. the beam as the latter rises.

3. The combination of a wheeled frame, a vertically-moving beam or drag-bar attached thereto, and a lifting-spring, substantially as described, which exerts a greater strain or effect upon the beam when the latter is elevated than when it is depressed.

4. The combination of a vertically-moving I beam, a lifting-spring, and a shifting or changing hearing or fulcrum, whereby the lifting action or effect of the spring upon the beam is increased as the beam is elevated, substantiallyas described and shown.

5. A vertically-movable beam, in combination with a lifting-spring, connected therewith by a changeable or shifting bearing, substantially as described, whereby the lifting force or efiect of the spring upon the rising beam is maintained, notwithstanding the decreasing tension of the spring.

' EDGAR A. WRIGHT.

Witnesses:

J. P. DosH, E. P. LYNCH. 

